A civilian police worker who drove his car at his wife and her lover is to be assessed by a psychiatrist before he is sentenced.

Stephen White, 34, who worked as a community support officer for the Metropolitan Police, was cleared of attempting to murder his estranged wife, Tracy, and her lover, Martin Buck, by a jury at Lewes Crown Court.

But he was convicted of dangerous driving and attempting to cause the couple grievous bodily harm.

During the five-day trial the jury heard how White's red Rover mounted the pavement as the couple were walking hand-in-hand in Creasy's Drive, Crawley, on June 27 last year.

Mrs White, who is in the process of getting divorced, was thrown into the air by the impact and landed in nearby bushes.

Mr Buck, a former close friend of White, rolled off the bonnet.

White, of Beechy Road, Broadfield, Crawley, was said to have chased after Mr Buck screaming "You are shagging my wife" before getting back behind the wheel of his car and driving again at his love rival.

The car missed and came to a stop embedded in a brick wall.

Neither Mrs White nor Mr Buck were seriously injured.

The prosecution accused White of intending to kill the couple in a fit of rage days after the marriage had ended. But White told the jury his wife's affair had torn his life apart just as he was recovering from the mental illness he had suffered from for seven years.

Mrs White, who gave evidence behind a screen, told the jury she had feared for her life as the car was driven towards her.

She said her husband had told her a number of times: "If I can't have you, no one can have you."

Their nine-year marriage had been troubled and unhappy, she said, and her husband had made her feel like a prisoner in her own home.

She said: "I had to stay at home and play the little woman."

Although her husband had suspected her of having an affair with Mr Buck for almost a year, she said the relationship only began once she and her husband separated, three days before his arrest.

On June 24 he lost his temper and punched her during a row.

He was cautioned by police for assault and moved out of the home they shared. Two days later he tried to kill himself by taking an overdose.

But White, who sobbed loudly in the dock at times during the trial, denied he ever planned to hurt the couple.

He said he was heartbroken at the end of the marriage and still loved his wife.

The court heard he was staying at a relative's home when he went to an off-licence and by chance drove past his wife and Mr Buck.

White, a former security officer at Gatwick, said he meant to drive his car in front of the couple in order to confront them but the manoeuvre went wrong and he hit them by accident.

He said he did not drive at Mr Buck a second time but had been trying to avoid his dog running in the road. He then drove into the wall in a bid to kill himself.

White was not injured and ran to his home in Beechy Road where he rang 999 and told the emergency operator he had killed his wife.

In a taped conversation played to the jury, he said: "I have killed her. I have had a nervous breakdown. I saw her with her boyfriend walking along the road with my dog. I lost control."

Referring to Mr Buck he said: "Get the guy off the street because if I find him, I will kill him."

White also rang two friends to say he had killed his wife by running her over.

He then cut his wrists and threatened to slash his neck before police officers arrived.

White was convicted by a majority verdict of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to the couple when he drove at them the first time.

He was unanimously convicted of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Buck relating to the second time he drove at him.

Judge Richard Hayward adjourned sentencing in order for an up-to-date psychiatric assessment to be made.

He told White: "The fact I am investigating mental health issues does not mean the court is not considering a custodial sentence."

White was remanded in custody.